In vitro fermentation patterns and methane production of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) hay with different condensed tannin contents

Abstract

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is a perennial legume recently reappraised for some positive characteristics leading to highly satisfactory animal performance. Sainfoin's characteristics may be partly explained by the presence of moderate levels of condensed tannins (CTs) able to protect dietary protein from microbial degradation in the rumen. Decreased CH 4 emissions have been reported for ruminants consuming CT-containing forage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of CT content on the in vitro fermentation characteristics and kinetics and methane production of four samples of O. viciifolia cut at different phenological stages. Sainfoin hays and one sample of alfalfa hay were incubated at 39°C in anaerobiosis using the in vitro gas production technique. The chemical composition, tannin content and fermentation characteristics and kinetics of sainfoin samples were significantly affected by phenological stage. After 48 h, the CH 4 production in sainfoin hays showed a tendency to increase with the advancement of phenological stage [from 38AE6 to 49AE8 mL g )1 of degraded organic matter (OM)]. The best period to cut sainfoin for hay making is between early and late flowering, when the forage combines high OM digestibility, low CH 4 production and more efficient microbial fermentation.

Tannins in forage plants and their role in animal husbandry and environmental sustainability: a review

“…The localization of CT in different plant parts of forage legumes is summarized in Table . The content of tannins varies with the growth stage of species (Piluzza et al ., ; Häring et al ., ; Molle et al ., ; Theodoridou et al ., , ; Guglielmelli et al ., ) and in the different organs of plants (Piluzza et al ., ; Molle et al ., ; Theodoridou et al ., ). The dynamics of CT concentration in growing plants is important for the nutrition and health of ruminants.…”

Development of feeding systems and strategies of supplementation to enhance rumen fermentation and ruminant production in the tropics

“…There is also evidence that some condensed tannins (CT) can reduce methane emissions while reducing bloat and increasing amino acid absorption in the small intestine. Methane emissions are also commonly lower with higher proportions of forage legumes in the diet, partly due to lower fiber contact, a faster rate of passage and, in some cases, the presence of condensed tannins [42,43]. Supplementation with Phaseolus calcaratus hay (PCH) at 600 g/hd/d was beneficial for swamp buffaloes fed rice straw as a basal roughage, as it resulted in increased DM intake, reduced protozoal numbers and methane gas production in the rumen, increased N retention as well as improving the efficiency of rumen microbial CP synthesis [44].…”

Nutritional Value ofAcacia AmentaceaandParkinsonia TexanaGrown in Semiarid Conditions

“…The GEL, varies from 2 to 12%, depending on the IVTOMD of forages (Cambra-López et al, 2008), therefore a negative correlation is usually established between forage digestibility and CH4 emission, as in this study (r=-0.923; P<0.01). It is often claimed that forage-based diets generally result in higher enteric CH4 (Klevenhusen et al, 2011); nevertheless, a negative correlation albeit no significant (r=-0.932; P=0.068) was found between the tannin content and CH 4 production (Guglielmelli et al, 2011), indicating that CH4 production consistently declined as the structural compounds content increased. Nevertheless, in this study GEL values were not related to the NDF (r=0.040; P>0.01), whereas the relationship with the NSC (data not shown) was negative (r=-0.477; P<0.01) as also found by Lovett et al (2006).…”